


Twists and Bends

by Unfeathered



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: M/M, Plot Twists, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-09-24
Updated: 2009-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24678250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfeathered/pseuds/Unfeathered
Summary: A coda toNo Exit (Everybody Lives)bybagheera_sanWith the Doctor apparently coming round to his way of thinking, the Master reflects, and celebrates.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who)
Kudos: 34





	Twists and Bends

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](https://unfeatheredfics.livejournal.com/9600) on 24 September 2009 for a fic remix at [best_enemies](https://best_enemies.livejournal.com/). This is the twist I kind of expected when I first read [bagheera_san](https://bagheera_san.livejournal.com/)'s story. (Not that her story needs it; it's excellent as it is. It's just that this is where _my_ mind went as I read it!) It's not so much a remix as a tag to the original story and follows on immediately from where the original left off.
> 
> Beta'd by the everlastingly wonderful [mad_jaks](https://mad_jaks.livejournal.com/).

There's a reason the Master keeps coming back to the Doctor, and the reason is that this man is _brilliant._ Who else but the Doctor could go from confused and suspicious to planning to take over the universe in the space of about ten minutes? Well, subjectively about ten minutes; who knows how long in real time? But real time doesn't matter here. Here, in the Matrix, real time doesn't exist. Here, they can spend as long as they want, on whatever they want.

The Master lies still in the dark, holding the Doctor, listening idly to the thoughts running through that busy mind. _Feeling_ the Doctor finally start to get a sense of his own power and the way he could use that power. It's intoxicating and he wants to get closer to that sense of power. His hand slides up the Doctor's back again beneath his jacket, strong and possessive, claiming the Doctor and welcoming him – at last! – to the Master's way of thinking.

The Doctor wriggles against him – an automatic response, the Master thinks. The Doctor's mind is too hyperactive to really notice what he's doing, but his body – oh, yes, his _body_ is taking notice. His virtual body, that is. It's good to know that his reactions here in the Matrix are as predictable as they are in the real world. The Master flexes his hips, rubbing against the Doctor. Oh yes. _Definitely_ taking interest! He grins and pulls the Doctor to him even more firmly, and makes use of the time while the Doctor's distracted to conjure more interesting – and appropriate – surroundings for them: a large but cosy room with heavily-curtained windows, flickering oil lamps and a roaring fire, and beneath them a big, comfortable bed with ornately-carved wood, plush red silk sheets and soft, fluffy pillows. Perfect.

The thrill of success tingling in his veins, he slides his hand further up the Doctor's back to cup the base of his skull, tilts his head back a little and kisses him, feeding his joy and triumph back to the Doctor. The Doctor makes a tiny, brief sound of surprise; then his arms come around the Master and he starts to kiss back, grinning against the Master's mouth. The Master grins too, glee running through him. At _last_ , after all these years, he has the Doctor _exactly_ where he wants him.

And, by Rassilon, he's going to make the most of it. His mind is racing with all the things he wants to do with the Doctor, now that he's got him. Starting right now, with a nice, long, slow fuck.

* * *

While the Doctor is floating blissfully in a post-orgasmic haze, the Master pulls back slowly from their mental link in order to make a few checks on his shielding. He'd prefer it if the Doctor was asleep, but sleep isn't really needed in the Matrix and this is probably the nearest he's going to get. And he needs to make sure that he's keeping hidden the things he needs to keep hidden, because there are a number of things he really, really doesn't want the Doctor to know.

Like the fact that he got up to far, far more in those two and a half years stuck on Earth than the Doctor gives him credit for. He recreated the Matrix, for one thing, and that wasn't exactly child's play. He was nowhere near as stupid as the Doctor believed he was. He knew the paradox wouldn't hold for ever. It was a nice dream, taking over the universe with a bunch of butchered humans as his army, but it was never really going to be more than that – well, and a fantastic way to hurt the Doctor, of course. Oh, the look on that dear, wrinkled face every time he looked at one of the Toclafane! That alone made all that work more than worth it.

He also doesn't want to reveal just yet that he already has someone looking after the ring for him. His dear, sweet, loyal Lucy, who stayed with him right through to the bitter end (and it did get rather bitter for her, poor thing) and who was so very easy to hypnotise into picking up a gun and shooting him at just the right moment to give him his victory over the Doctor. And then into following the Doctor to his oh-so-sorrowful cremation ceremony and sneaking in, after the Doctor had gone, to retrieve the Master's ring. She kept the ring safe for him through all the trials her fellow humans put her through for shooting her poor husband. And the best thing is, she doesn't remember any of it! Loyal to the end, and she doesn't even know why.

Then, of course, there's the Doctor's assertion that he can't hurt anyone now. He can't help sniggering internally about that. Because the Master isn't stuck in the Matrix – because he isn't actually dead. He's very much alive and safely ensconced in the Doctor's TARDIS. He did regenerate, just not immediately. He poured his energy and his essence into the ring and from that Lucy transferred it to the new body he'd had waiting for him – a human body, unfortunately, but that was all that was available at the time and he's made do with non-Time-Lord bodies before. It's a rather handsome one, at least: that of a young, intelligent UNIT soldier he'd picked out during his tenancy as Lord and Master of Earth. He giggles softly as he imagines the Doctor's face when he discovers that what the Master looks like within the Matrix is not, now, how he looks outside it. He's gone back to dark and handsome, and – because he had time to choose this time – finally tall. For once, he's going to be taller than the Doctor. He made sure of that.

Because the final thing he's keeping secret is that the Doctor's not actually dead either. He's lying peacefully in a stasis field, his lanky body completely intact and as beautiful as ever. The story of his throat being cut was just a story, and the Doctor's initial thoughts of a transmat device weren't actually that far from the truth. The Master had simply grabbed him, knocked him out and then spirited him away for this, the best game he's played with the Doctor yet.

It's not just the best because it's possibly the most comprehensive plan he's ever tried. It's the best because it's actually _working_. Ten minutes – or whatever it actually was – and the Doctor's ready to start taking over the universe! Everything the Master has ever wanted is right here within his reach, and all he has to do is nurture it a little, and wait.

And, given the current rate of the Doctor's acceptance, he really doesn't expect to have to wait for long.


End file.
